Grosse Pointe South kids will hear Santorum speak -- but only with permission

Apr. 10, 2013

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, at the 40th annual Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., on March 15, 2013, is scheduled to speak at an assembly at Grosse Pointe South High School. / Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Written by

Megha Satyanarayana and Eric D. Lawrence

Detroit Free Press Staff Writers

Students at Grosse Pointe South High School will get to hear Rick Santorum speak after all — as long as they have signed permission slips from their parents.

District officials agreed Wednesday to reverse a decision canceling the former U.S. senator and presidential hopeful’s visit to the school after a firestorm of controversy.

Santorum was to speak at the high school April 24 after being invited by a local chapter of the group Young Americans for Freedom, which raised $18,000 to sponsor his visit.

But on Monday, the school notified parents in an e-mail that Santorum’s speech was off.

That sparked an outcry among students, who accused school officials of canceling the visit over Santorum’s views on gay marriage and public education.

Not so, officials said.

At issue, according to a statement released to the Free Press, was the fact that the national organization of Young Americans for Freedom refused to provide an advance copy of Santorum’s speech.

“The cancellation Monday was in no way related to a stance on public education or gay marriage,” the statement said.

Student organizer and high school senior Langston Bowens, 18, said Santorum, a social conservative, was invited to speak at the school about leadership. He said the request was approved by principal Matt Outlaw.

Bowens said a subsequent conference call between national officials of Young Americans for Freedom and district officials led to the cancellation after Superintendent Thomas Harwood voiced opinions about Santorum’s views on gay marriage and public education.

“I didn’t expect such a negative response,” Bowens said. “The reason why he was banned was because of personal issues.”

Harwood directed calls for comment to district spokeswoman Rebecca Fannon, who said any decision to cancel the speech had nothing to do with Santorum’s views. She pointed out that it is typical protocol in the district to demand an advance copy of a speech because minors would be present.

Santorum has made no secret of his feelings about gay marriage. The Des Moines Register reported this week that Santorum had told the newspaper “there’s obviously an increasing mood on supporting gay marriage, but it is not a well thought-out position by the American public.”

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Santorum released a statement on his website. It reads, in part, “I was never asked for a copy of a speech, nor did I send one. This has nothing to do with the content of a speech, but rather the context of my convictions.”

On Wednesday, district officials said in a statement they were satisfied that Santorum’s remarks would focus on leadership and community service — “two qualities we seek to instill in our students.”

They reversed the decision to call it off, but said those who wish to attend need a signed permission slip.

“With this compromise, families will have the opportunity to discuss and determine prior to the event whether they wish their student to participate. Staff will be given that same opportunity. Those who choose not to participate will continue with their regularly scheduled school day,” the district said in a statement.

Students were given an in-school permission form for their parents to sign.

School board member Lois Valente said she had no personal problem with Santorum’s beliefs, but said the assembly was not appropriate because he is a paid speaker, no longer an elected official, and was to come to the high school as part of a nearly full-day, mandatory assembly at a time of year too close to finals and graduation.

Valente said Outlaw should have consulted with higher administration before approving Santorum as a speaker.

“I see this more as a debacle of administrative leadership than a liberal-bias educator trying to quash Mr. Santorum’s point of view,” she said.

Among the other speakers Bowens suggested for the assembly were Ann Coulter, Karl Rove and Steve Forbes.